Titans next head coach front-runner is a no-brainer for 3 reasons following the firing of Brian Callahan
Who would I pick as the Titans next head coach today? It’s so early, but here’s my answer.
When Chad Brinker set out to lead the search for the next general manager of the Tennessee Titans this past January, many expected Packers executive Jon-Eric Sullivan to land the gig. See, Brinker and Sullivan go way back. They’re boys, at least to some extent.
There’s a documented familiarity and respect between them that, when Sullivan was officially reported to be one of the interviewees, made him feel like the easy favorite to become the Super Scout to complement Brinker’s President of Football Operations role.
And maybe he was the internal frontrunner for a time. That’s for Chad Brinker to tell you, not me. Here’s what I can tell you: regardless of the expectations going into that week’s intensive interview process, they came out the other side with Chiefs executive Mike Borgonzi.
There were a handful of historical connections between the Titans’ search party and the candidate pool, none more glaring or qualified than Sullivan, but Brinker & Co. ultimately selected the man they felt was the right man for the job, agnostic of history. I think that counts for something.
And that’s proof-positive that when the Titans say they’ll now take the same approach to finding Brian Callahan’s replacement in 2026, they mean it. Early reports indicate a handful of “front-runners” for the role, despite a hiring process that’s still several months away.
These names are based on likely candidates, their desires, and perhaps most directly, the historical ties you can draw between them and this Titans regime. Yes, Mike McCarthy (Brinker/Green Bay), Matt Nagy (Borgonzi/Kansas City), and Arthur Smith (Tennessee) are early candidates for the obvious reasons.
But here’s another thing I can tell you for certain: Brinker and Borgonzi haven’t unlocked the desk drawer that contains their coaching shortlists for anybody in the media in October. Guesses today are just that: guesses. And while historical connections can’t be ignored when identifying candidates, I’m not sold they’ll be the determining tiebreaker when a decision is made. They weren’t the first time Brinker did this.
So what will matter when a decision is made? And who is my guess for the front-runner today? Well, again, we’re months away from this process. A guess today could look silly when the hire is made. But you can go ahead and bet the mortgage on this guy being on the interview list at the very least, and I see three fundamental reasons why he’s the front-runner today. So let’s talk about him: 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh.
He’s hungry for another head coaching job
The Titans have their work cut out for them to make this coaching job attractive to prospective candidates. It’s one of 32, as they say, so that baseline will always exist. Besides that, there are a handful of pillars on this roster that are attractive on paper. You can read my ranking of those players. And ultimately, the next hire will come down to somebody who believes in and has a plan for Cam Ward as the future of this franchise. That’s the only prerequisite for the job that you can write in pen today.
But relative to the half-dozen or so vacancies sure to be available this winter across the league, the Titans’ job simply isn’t attractive. Amy Adams Strunk and Jon Robinson have ensured that. So when you ask me who will end up taking the job, my initial answer is somebody who is really hungry for another job.
Robert Saleh fits that bill. He wants another crack at being a head coach after going 20-36 with the Jets from 2021-2024. That record doesn’t feel too bad now that we have some hindsight perspective. His interim replacement, Jeff Ulbrich, went 3-9 to finish 2024, and so far, Aaron Glenn is 1-7 in 2025.
Where the hindsight case for Saleh shines, though, is with his defense. In 2022, his defense ranked fourth in total yards allowed. In 2023, it improved to third. And then in his five games coaching in 2024 before being fired, his unit was ranked second. Then the moment he left, the Jets’ ferocious defense seemed to lose its teeth. They ranked 18th in total yards allowed the rest of 2024. So far in 2025, they rank 25th.
Bottom line, Saleh has a case to pitch himself. When he’s already getting interview opportunities the cycle immediately following his firing, there’s no doubt that he wants another swing at being the top dog. Everything I have seen and heard indicates he’s interested in it.
He has experience
Every time a team fires its head coach, there tends to be a pivot of some kind. Sometimes, it’s going from offensive to defensive minds. Sometimes, you transition from a jerk to a nice guy. Sometimes, it’s young to old. For the Titans this January, I’m fairly certain their only pivot will be going from inexperience to experience.
Callahan was a first-time head coach and a first-time play-caller. The more we see of guys trying to make both of those leaps at the same time, the riskier a decision it seems. It may be fair to say that’s just too much to take on at once. It’s two full-time promotions.
The Titans search party has done research on this, and they know what’s historically true: the most successful archetype for a coaching hire is a second-time head coach, and/or a coordinator who has called plays for five or more years.
Saleh fits both of those descriptions. He was a head coach in New York, where he called defensive plays, and has also been a play-calling DC for five total seasons in San Francisco. He’s been around the block and has perspective on these things. His former DC and eventual interim replacement in New York, Ulbrich, said of Saleh in a recent Mike Silver piece at The Athletic, “It’s healing for him, I think he did a really good job as head coach under challenging circumstances.”
The journey he’s been on and the fight to return to the top seat are real selling points.
He can be a culture builder
Lastly, though, perhaps most importantly, Saleh is the type of leader this blank-slate team could use. Brinker and Borgonzi are hellbent on building a meaningful winning culture in a building that has been drained of any identity in recent years. They’ll be looking for a leader who can build a bedrock. And when you listen to Saleh’s players talk about him, it seems clear that’s a service he can provide. Another pair of quotes from Silver’s feature on Saleh is a great example of this.
“Saleh is the best signing we’ve ever had,” said George Kittle. “I’ve been saying that since OTAs. It’s not just how smart he is, but his juice. He’s inspirational. He’s great in meetings. His energy is infectious, every single day. And he gets our young guys ready.”
QB Brock Purdy chimed in as well. “Saleh brings a different kind of energy to the building, and he’s dialing it up. He’s really, really smart, and it’s helping us a lot.”
That’s exactly the type of coach this team needs.